Cajuns mount comeback to stay in Sun Belt race

Sporting special all-black uniforms specifically for the game, Louisiana-Lafayette jumped right back into the Sun Belt Conference race by rallying for a 31-27 win Saturday over Western Kentucky.

The Ragin' Cajuns (6-4, 4-2 Sun Belt) erased a 10-point deficit with six minutes left to knock off WKU (6-5, 3-4) on "blackout" night at Cajun Field. They're now bowl eligible for the second straight year and fourth in the Sun Belt standings with two games left in the regular season.

"That was a remarkable finish by a remarkable football team," Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth said. "I really felt like that in the last three weeks we have come together as a football team and really played our best football."

Down 27-17 with six minutes to go, the Cajuns made it a three-point game on Terrance Broadway's 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Robinson at the 2:43 mark. The Cajuns failed to recover an onside kick but forced a WKU punt to get the ball back with 1:32 remaining with a chance to tie it up or go for the win.

Broadway capped a 93-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard TD run to give the Cajuns the lead for good with 38 seconds left. The sophomore accounted for two TDs and a career-high 403 yards of total offense, including a personal-best 145 yards, to keep the Cajuns in the hunt for the Sun Belt championship.

"It means a lot," Broadway said of becoming bowl eligible. "We had our ups and downs this season but whatever it takes our last goal is to find a way and this week we found a way."

On that final drive Broadway went 5-for-6 passing for 59 yards, with four of his throws going to receiver Harry Peoples for 49 yards.

"Once we got the ball we only needed a field goal, but we had such momentum and made some big plays," Hudspeth said. "It was phenomenal."

The win snapped a two-game losing streak to the Hilltoppers, who had won the previous two meetings by a combined 52 points.

"It was the plan all year to pull out the black uniforms for the Western Kentucky game," Hudspeth said. "I think it fired the players and fans up."

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NCAAF Team Report - Louisiana-Lafayette - NOTES, QUOTES

WHAT'S AHEAD: The Cajuns close out the home portion of their schedule on Nov. 24 against South Alabama at Cajun Field. Currently the Cajuns (6-4, 4-2) are fourth in the league. South Alabama (2-9, 1-6) is in last place with its only league win coming over Florida Atlantic in double overtime on Oct. 20.

--QB Terrance Broadway rushed for 145 yards on 14 attempts and RB Alonzo Harris added 104 yards on 10 carries to give the Cajuns a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since 2008. RB Tyrell Fenroy (297 yards) and QB Michael Desormeaux (149) both topped the 100-yard mark against Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 4, 2008.

--Instead of having last names on the back of their all-black uniforms, the Cajuns had one of four French words: unite (unity), fierte (pride), combattre (fight) or croire (believe). Each jersey front had a large fleur-de-lis instead of a number, which was on the shoulder. They also wore black helmets with a fleur-de-lis design.

KEEP AN EYE ON: The Cajuns rushed for a season-high 324 yards and three TDs against a Western Kentucky team that led the Sun Belt in rush defense (118.2 yards per game) and total defense (325.2 yards per game). Broadway and Harris both rushed for more than 100 yards and redshirt freshman RB Torrey Pierce added 72 rushing yards.

STILL NEEDS WORK: The Cajuns allowed WKU RB Antonio Andrews to rush for 238 yards and two TDs as the Hilltoppers ran for 266 yards as a team. They also turned it over twice on two Broadway interceptions and had the ball for only 25:20 compared to 34:40 by WKU.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "This team has grown a little closer over the last few weeks and you can really see the leadership in the practices and workouts." -- Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth.

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NCAAF Team Report - Louisiana-Lafayette - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

PLAYER NOTES:

--QB Terrance Broadway had another special game after accounting for two TDs and a career-high 403 yards of total offense. The sophomore rushed for a career-best 145 yards and the go-ahead 14-yard score on 10 carries. He also completed 23-of-33 passes for 258 yards and a 4-yard TD to Jamal Robinson with 2:43 left to spark his team's comeback.